Tennis legend Billie Jean King announced as a special guest of the Australian Open in an emotional reunion with the Original 9
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Billie Jean King will return as a special guest at the Australian Open and AO Inspirational Series in Melbourne Park in January.
The tennis legend, 79, will be joined by members of the Original 9, including Australians Judy Dalton and Kerry Melville Reid, and Americans Rosie Casals, Peaches Bartkowicz, Kristy Pigeon and Valerie Bradshaw. Announce sun.
King said she is “thrilled” to be reunited with the group that split from the tennis boards in 1970 to form their own tour and advocate for better prize money for women’s tennis.
Billie Jean King, 79, (pictured) returns as a special guest at the Australian Open and January AO Inspirational Series at Melbourne Park in January
The incredibly influential Virginia Slims Circuit eventually formed into the worldwide Women’s Tennis Association Tour.
“I’m so excited that the Original 9 will be reuniting in Melbourne and it will be especially fitting to celebrate Judy Dalton and Kerry Melville Reid in their homeland,” King told the Herald Sun.
“Australia has always been a very important part of my career and the months I trained with the Aussies in 1964 helped me become the number one player in the world.”
The tennis legend will be joined by members of the Original 9, including Australians Judy Dalton and Kerry Melville Reid, and Americans Rosie Casals, Peaches Bartkowicz, Kristy Pigeon and Valerie Bradshaw, the Herald Sun reported.
“The place is special and there’s a reason they call the AO the Happy Slam, because we always have a great time in Melbourne,” she added.
King went on to say that the Original 9 has made professional women’s tennis what it is today.
“Every time a woman receives a check for a tennis tournament anywhere in the world, she can thank the Original 9,” she said.
King said she is “thrilled” to be reunited with the group that split from the tennis boards in 1970 to form their own tour and advocate for better prize money for women’s tennis. Pictured at Wimbledon in 1970
King’s last appearance at the Australian Open was in 2018.
She said her “favorite moment” from the event was the night she celebrated great Aussie tennis players at the Evonne Goolagong Foundation dinner in Kooyong.
Presenting the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup to the women’s champion alongside Chris O’Neill was another moment she fondly remembered.
The incredibly influential Virginia Slims Circuit eventually formed into the worldwide Women’s Tennis Association Tour. Pictured with her husband Larry in 1966
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